the more you know
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]An ellipsis representing the first part of a comparative correlative construction. Popularized by The More You Know (1989–present), an NBCUniversal series of public service announcements that features educational messages. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “does this predate The More You Know?”)
Phrase
[edit]- (often humorous) Used to imply that a piece of information that otherwise seems trivial or uninteresting might represent valuable knowledge.
- 2016 April 25, Jessica Radloff, “Dancing With the Stars 2016 Famous Dances Week Recap: Doug Flutie and Karina Smirnoff Are Eliminated”, in Glamour[1]:
- The more you know: Give birthday boy Len Goodman a Mirrorball-trophy-inspired cake, and he'll dish out 9's and 10's on Dancing With the Stars! Yes, this week was quite a change after last week's head-scratching episode—and all is happy again in the ballroom.
- 2019 June 2, Kayleigh Roberts, “The Royal Family Celebrates Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Anniversary on Instagram”, in Marie Claire[2]:
- Fun fact: Elizabeth became the longest-reigning British monarch in history in 2017 when she passed the record previously held by Queen Victoria, who ruled for 63 years, from 1837 to 1901. George III, the longest-reigning man on the list, comes in third overall with 59 years on the throne—the more you know, right?).
- 2023 August 21, Jennifer Savin, “Everything an expert wants you to know about sea kelp”, in Cosmopolitan[3]:
- While you may not have heard of it, sea kelp has been eaten and used medicinally for hundreds of years in various forms. Some sea kelp by-products are even a common ingredient in ice cream, salad dressings and chocolate milk. The more you know, eh?
- 2024 August 20, Mehera Bonner, “Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum’s 3-Year Relationship Timeline: a Retrospective”, in Cosmopolitan[4], archived from the original on 2024-10-07:
- Zoë [Kravitz] posts a rare pic of the couple on Instagram alongside the caption, “#BLINKTWICE in theaters august 23rd 🌴.” A lil refresher that Blink Twice is the actor’s highly anticipated upcoming directorial debut, which was renamed after initially being called Pussy Island. The more you know!